"SECURE 2.0 increased the RMD triggering age, decreased excise taxes, eliminated distribution requirements for certain Roth accounts, provided a new election for surviving spouses, and made changes to the rules on annuities to promote lifetime income distribution options. Not only are these changes voluminous, but they also have different effective dates."   MORE >>

"While most provisions will take affect within the next two years, it is important for plan sponsors and service providers to become familiar with the 2025 and later provisions so potential operational roadblocks can be addressed and changes can be quickly implemented when the deadline approaches."   MORE >>

"[M]uch of the final regulation should not be controversial. It recites commonly accepted fiduciary principles relating to the two core responsibilities included in the regulation's title: prudence and loyalty. The entire regulation references 'ESG' only one time, and that reference is limited to the permissible consideration of the economic effects of ESG factors. However, Congress, the Attorneys General for 25 states, and a number of private companies have given fiduciaries reason to pause. At this stage, fiduciaries are well-served to stick to the traditional fiduciary principles recited within the regulation"   MORE >>

"People who work for smaller employers and participate in small plans pay, on average, around double the cost to invest as participants at larger plans -- around 84 basis points (0.84%) in total compared with 40 basis points (0.40%), respectively.... While the median costs have dropped across all plan sizes ... small plans have not meaningfully closed the gap on their larger counterparts."   MORE >>

"The 'danger zone' ... appears to be among participants who were 30-39 years old. Apart from those who had less than 1 year of tenure, the highest number of full payouts (nearly 70,000) occurred in this age range for workers who had 5-10 years of tenure.... These groups may be juggling multiple financial goals, such as saving to buy a house, saving for retirement or for college, but they are also carrying unprecedented levels of debt."   MORE >>

"Lifecycle funds, an auto-diversified target-date fund with an age-based glide path, are used by an increasing share of participants. Younger participants, who are more likely to have defaulted into the Lifecycle fund, tend to use it as a single comprehensive fund-of-funds investment. Older participants who invest in a Lifecycle fund tend to use it as part of a broader portfolio strategy."   MORE >>

"[N]early half of 162,360 employees who left their jobs between 2014 and 2016 at 28 US companies cashed out of workplace retirement plans like 401(k)s that incentivize saving over time.... Of the workers withdrawing from their funds after a job separation, only 27% were fired or laid off. "   MORE >>

"There is a distinct and legal difference between the 401(k) trust and the 403(b) master custodial agreement ... [T]he custodial account is technically still not a 'trust' in the traditional way used in the 401(a) market -- for example, the 401(a) trust is a tax exempt entity under 501(a), where the 403(b) custodial account is not.... Though ERISA will treat the custodial account as a trust for Title 1 purposes, it still is not legally a trust."   MORE >>

"Pension finances slipped in March as interest rates moved lower, outpacing modestly rising stock prices. Both model plans ... saw declines last month: Plan A lost more than 1% in March but remains up more than 1% for the year, while the more conservative Plan B lost less than 1% last month but is still up a fraction of 1% through the first quarter of 2023."   MORE >>

"Total household balances in retirement-type accounts for those 65 and up are $407,581 on average.... For 12% of men and 15% of women, Social Security comprises 90% or more of retirement income.... Households headed by people 65 or older spend an average of $7,030 a year on healthcare.... Older adults spent less time socializing, volunteering and attending religious services in 2021, compared with 2011.... People 65 to 74 have a median net worth of $266,400 and an average net worth of $1,217,700."   MORE >>